Bianchi (bicycle manufacturer)

A Bianchi head badge.

File:Bianchi EV41.jpg

A lightweight Bianchi EV4 racing bicycle. The bicycle is painted in the traditional celeste color and equipped with Campagnolo components.

F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A is a major Italian bicycle manufacturer founded in 1885. It also produced automobiles from 1900 to 1939 and Bianchi motorcycles from 1897 to 1967. Bianchi is considered one of the most prestigious brand names in racing bicycles.

Bianchi bicycles

Edoardo Bianchi started his bicycle manufacturing business in a small bike shop on Milan’s Via Nirone (#7, Now recognised as one of the city's artifacts) in 1885. Since then, Bianchi has become one of the world's most respected bicycle companies. F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A and its subsidiary brands (Such as Legnano, Gitane, Puch and Chiorda) has been part of Cycleurope Group, the Swedish company of Grimaldi Industri AB, since May 1997. Bianchi is also considered to be the oldest bicycle manufacturer in the world today, having pioneered the use of equal-sized wheels with pneumatic rubber tires in 1885, and the front wheel caliper-operated braking mechanism. The company manufactures various types of bicycle, including road, mountain, track, and cruiser bicycles. They are best known for their racing bicycles built by their famous Reparto Corse (Race Department) factory in Treviglio, Bergamo, Italy; which more often than not are equipped with Campagnolo parts.

Bianchi USA is the United States division of Bianchi. Located in Hayward, California, they produce bicycles specifically (and only) for the American market, which are built in Taiwan and Italy. In the United States, only the Reparto Corse range are still produced in Italy. Non-Reparto Corse models are not available elsewhere.

Its riders have had numerous Tour de France and Giro d'Italia victories. Several famous riders of different eras have been associated with Bianchi including Fausto Coppi and Felice Gimondi, who still continues his association with the company. Some recent famous riders include Danilo Di Luca, Mario Cipollini, Marco Pantani, Moreno Argentin and Jan Ullrich. Until the 2007 season, Bianchi was a co-sponsor of the UCI ProTour team Liquigas. In the 2008 Tour de France, they are a co-sponsor of the Barloworld team.

Bianchi bicycles are traditionally painted in the highly recognizable "Celeste", (Pronounced che-les-te) a turquoise colour also known as "Bianchi GREEN." There are two opposing legends concerning the origin of this colour - some say it is the colour of the Milan sky, others say it was the colour of the eyes of the former Queen of Italy, for whom Edoardo Bianchi once made a bicycle. There is also some speculation that the "Celeste" color was the result of surplus military paint.

See also

• Liquigas-Bianchi ProTour team
• Team Bianchi
• Autobianchi

External links

• Bianchi Corporate site
• Bianchi USA US site
• International English-language site
• Reparto Corse: The Story of Bianchi